Peer-to-peer P2P networks are networks that enable a computer user in possession of digital content to share the digital content with other users without having to transfer to or download the content from a central server. P2P networks have generally been very successful but have existed outside of most legal frameworks. This has lead to considerable controversy including the shutdown of many peer-to-peer networks due to court injunctions and other legal problems. This problem appears to have been solved in conjunction with the Digital Rights Management (DRM) issue but separating DRM and Digital Content Distribution (DCD) has lead to innovative differentiation. Even then this has not really been solved in a generic P2P infrastructure, but has resulted in much more centralized environments.
Current P2P solutions have been created outside of a legal framework and are subject to repeated attack from copyright holders. Their growth is limited by ongoing legality concerns in the minds of potential users which are fostered by the RIAA and like organizations.
Current DRM solutions tend to have originated with rights holders and thus tend to enforce additional restrictions on the use of purchased materials above and beyond those which consumers have come to expect with videocassette recorders (VCRs) and the Compact Cassette. This has lead to consumer resentment. DRM solutions also tend to be somewhat centralized in nature leading to limited, or very expensive systems.
P2P operators have not, historially, been too concerned with content tracking and tracability, nor with the implementation of a legal overlay on a P2P infrastructure. Traditional DRM providers view their value as being in the DRM solution, not in the content distribution component, for which they would typically expect to use commercially available solutions.
Thus, there is a need for a peer-to-peer (P2P) distribution scheme that can incorporate the concepts from digital rights management thereby enabling the distribution of digital content such as music, movies and books while providing just compensation to the owners of such copyrighted works.
It would be desirable to have a P2P digital content distribution system and method that enable charging back to a prepaid account such as a prepaid mobile phone account.
Additionally, it would be desirable to have a P2P digital content distribution system that provides for certification of quality of content thereby ensuring that the downloaded digital files are not corrupted or contain viruses or other problems that would prohibit their legitimate use.
Furthermore, it would be desirable to have a P2P digital content distribution system that provides credits to a customer for the onward distribution of digital content to additional users/customers.